It’s probably because of the little cat’s presence that this dream from deep memory has changed.
The dark, icy afternoon of ten years ago has disappeared.
In that lonely dwelling, with the fuzzy little cat’s company, they watched a very beautiful sunset in their lives.
Shu Tang found that the mermaid’s sharp fins slowly relaxed. She struggled out of the mermaid’s embrace, went downstairs to find pain relief pills for nerve pain, and also took a bottle of sedative.
However, when she returned upstairs, as soon as Shu Tang entered the room, she found the mermaid’s hand on his abdomen, leaning against the wall with a slight frown. After feeding him the medicine, the mermaid’s frown did not relax; instead, he kept that posture, looking pale and uncomfortable.
Shu Tang thought this looked like the way Su Yin appeared when she had a stomach illness.
But with the mermaid’s mutated body far more formidable than an ordinary human’s, how could he have a stomachache?
Suddenly, Shu Tang thought: if the mermaid recalled his past memories, then this gesture could likely be a bodily memory remaining from times of stomach pain.
Although she knew it was improbable that the mermaid actually had a stomachache, Shu Tang still went downstairs to find a box of stomach medicine with fewer side effects.
While opening the medicine, Shu Tang thought: the little rose of the past was quite different from what she imagined.
The last time at the hotel, Zhu Yan seemed like an overworked, world-weary office drone;
This time it was severe stomach illness, much like the times they used to work overtime without time to eat.
Shu Tang had also been like this in the past, hastily eating dinner before rushing to the night shift, occasionally having breakfast while checking rooms. She had a couple of severe stomach pains and after checking, the doctor advised her to eat regularly, otherwise, she would definitely develop a stomach illness.
But she was just a junior intern then, while Zhu Yan was such a formidable person with many doctors around him, how could he still have such severe stomach problems? Didn’t anyone remind him to eat regularly, or care about his stomach illness?
Shu Tang realized that Zhu Yan might not be as glamorous as she had imagined.
Somewhat like a little cabbage no one dotes on.
So, she returned to the mermaid’s side, burrowed into the arms of this clearly mutated, two-meter-tall little cabbage, and sighed.
…
The next morning. When Shu Tang woke up, the mermaid was still asleep.
Shu Tang wasn’t quite sure about the mermaid’s condition, but thinking of the stomach pain and the need to avoid cold food, she tiptoed out of bed, left the forbidden area, and went to buy breakfast.
In front of the steamer at the supermarket, Shu Tang had just bought a basket of meat buns when she turned and saw an acquaintance.
Chen Sheng was obviously there specifically to find Shu Tang, evidenced by his empty hands and the absence of even a fried dough stick in his grasp.
After realizing that Chen Sheng had come specifically to chat with her, a series of TV drama scenes played through Shu Tang’s mind.
Shu Tang thought to herself: Here it comes, the legendary attempt to break up lovers.
Typically, a secretary like Chen Sheng would show up immediately, inform her of the disparity in their statuses, and advise her to abandon her hopes and give up sooner rather than later.
However, the topic Chen Sheng wanted to discuss was unexpectedly different.
He spoke earnestly, “If possible, please continue to accompany the great leader.”
As a secretary adept at reading people, Chen Sheng realized the significant impact this matter had on Shu Tang after sending her away that day. According to his research, Shu Tang was not a very ambitious person, and the great leader’s current situation was very complicated. Chen Sheng could understand if Shu Tang didn’t want to get involved in the murky waters.
Yet unexpectedly, Shu Tang stayed.
Hence, the conversation they were having today.
“The great leader has no relatives or other family members. Even if he had friends or subordinates, they’ve mostly drifted away over the past decade.”
“People leave, and things cool off.”
Shu Tang was stunned for a moment, “He has no relatives?”
Chen Sheng replied, “No, the great leader came from an orphanage.”
It was hard to describe what Shu Tang felt at that moment.
She fell silent for a while, then suddenly asked a strange question: “Back when he was busy and forgot to eat, wasn’t there anyone to remind him?”
Chen Sheng was also taken aback by the question, and diplomatically said, “We can’t interfere with the great leader’s personal matters.”
Shu Tang mechanically took a bite of her steamed bun, staring blankly ahead.
If Zhu Yan used to be the great leader, it was difficult for his subordinates, including doctors, to interfere in the private affairs of such a high-ranking patient.
This responsibility should have been taken on by relatives or parents, just like Shu Tang’s parents always reminded her to eat on time. But Zhu Yan was an orphan, which meant that no one was around to play that role.
Shu Tang thought for a moment.
She felt very lonely.
Chen Sheng continued the conversation, probably to persuade Shu Tang to stay comfortably by the mermaid’s side. He started talking about past events:
“We used to have vacations, but the great leader did not. Most of our major battles in the polluted areas were personally led by him…”
She looked at Chen Sheng, who had come to talk so extensively with her and stayed by her side, probably someone who had been very kind and good to Zhu Yan in the past.
Then, she simply expressed her goodwill:
—Handing Chen Sheng a piping hot large steamed bun.
…
As Shu Tang approached the forbidden area, she thought about bringing some fish for Chen Sheng and Old Wu next time she came out.
However, perhaps because of Chen Sheng’s words, when she re-entered the forbidden area, Shu Tang suddenly remembered many overlooked details.
For example, during her long time in Area 02, she had never seen anyone visit the mermaid. Before her arrival, the place was covered in dust, indicating that it had been many years since anyone had set foot there.
She descended in the elevator and passed through the ruins, as if walking through a gradually desolate life.
From the snippets Chen Sheng revealed, Shu Tang knew that Zhu Yan was a good leader, because Chen Sheng mentioned he had participated in five hundred battles against the pollution zone.
Shu Tang thought of the current South Island City, where, despite the scarcity of supplies, it was a “safe zone” in the apocalypse where most people didn’t have to worry about survival.
Yet Shu Tang looked at the desolate forbidden area, and at that Bastille.
For ten years, the great leader from the battlefield lived in such a prison, spending lonely years one after another. Before her arrival, even the medical records were blank.
If not for Chen Sheng still being there, perhaps the forbidden area wouldn’t even have this sight to behold.
Even if the other person was a stranger, she would feel heartache because of this stark reality.
And what more when the person was her lover?
On the way back, her heart was sour and bitter, with a discomfort she couldn’t express.
After returning home and seeing that little bok choy, her eyes became incredibly soft. She ran over and hugged the mermaid’s waist, rubbing against him, and finally felt the stifling discomfort ease a bit.
Shu Tang said, “Little Rose, even if you gave me five million dollars, I wouldn’t want to leave you.”
This was the most serious love talk Shu Tang could utter.
The mermaid, just awakened from that dream, was somewhat unable to distinguish between memories and reality, until he was hugged by her, it seemed like he had just awakened from that dream.
However, upon lowering his head, he suddenly heard such words of love.
The mermaid saw Shu Tang’s eyes, which held a lot of “pity.”
But this fierce beast did not feel any loss of dignity; instead, bathed in such pity-filled gazes, the mermaid could very clearly feel the sensation of being loved.
So, the mermaid gradually put the Zhu Yan from the dream behind him, lowered his head, and kissed her.
This kiss was also incredibly gentle.
The kitten is not very brave; if her lover’s life were glamorous and bright, the kitten would eventually gather the courage to stand with her. But that would take even more time;
However, when she discovered that, in fact, the mermaid’s past was messy and even a bit terrible and lonely, the kitten would immediately raise her sharp claws to protect her little fish.
Shu Tang’s way of expressing love and pity was to give all of her large meat buns to the mermaid, and then gaze at the mermaid with loving eyes, following behind like a puppy.
However, this situation did not last long—
Because the mermaid accidentally flushed Shu Tang’s pet turtle into the sea.
When Shu Tang went to feed the turtle, she found the turtle nest she had painstakingly built was now empty.
Shu Tang found the fishy culprit.
“My turtle! Where’s my turtle!”
The mermaid told her: The turtle longed for the sea and has returned to it.
The look of pity vanished from Shu Tang’s face.
Because Shu Tang remembered how she had seen the mermaid looking fiercely at the turtle nest several times.
But a turtle flushed away is like water that can’t be reclaimed.
Shu Tang decided to get another pet.
Shu Tang asked the mermaid, “Should I keep a jellyfish or get another turtle?”
The mermaid hated turtles and didn’t like jellyfish either—besides, jellyfish die easily, and Shu Tang would surely blame the mermaid.
Hearing this, the mermaid called her “Tang” and said he would bring her a new pet.
At the time, Shu Tang thought the mermaid would catch a little jellyfish for her, and she looked forward to it all night.
So, the next morning, the mermaid brought her an orca.
Shu Tang, sitting on the rocks waiting for a jellyfish: …
Shu Tang’s imagined pet: small and gentle.
The mermaid’s imagined pet: strong bite, smart, and fierce.
Shu Tang felt she needed a moment to calm down.
Perhaps the expression on Shu Tang’s face at the time led the mermaid to misunderstand, thinking she didn’t like the orca, so in the afternoon he brought a group of orcas for her to choose from.
Fat ones, thin ones, big ones, small ones—all were there.
Perhaps remembering the sperm whale that Shu Tang had liked, the mermaid then brought that whale back as well.
Among all these whales, the mermaid asked her: Which one do you really want to keep?
Shu Tang looked left and right, feeling she had never seen such a sight in her life.
But Shu Tang suspected that if she didn’t choose, the mermaid might bring a great white shark the next day.
So, she hesitantly said, “I’ll take the sperm whale.”
…
Thus, Shu Tang came to own a sperm whale as a pet.
Shu Tang named the sperm whale “Zhen Zhen”. The mermaid found this name perplexing, wondering why such a name was chosen.
Shu Tang explained, “Mr. Krab’s daughter is a sperm whale, and her name is Zhen Zhen.”
The mermaid, having never watched SpongeBob, naturally couldn’t follow this line of thought.
However, the mermaid did point out a clear error: the sperm whale was actually male.
But Shu Tang believed that all sperm whales could be called Zhen Zhen.
Shu Tang was a bit worried because this pet exceeded her budget. She initially intended to spend only 50 yuan on a turtle, but now she found herself forced to care for a whale.
She checked her bank balance on her communicator, thinking: Such a huge creature, just feeding it would probably bankrupt her, right?
Little did she know, upon hearing her concerns, the mermaid fell silent for a moment, utterly baffled by Shu Tang’s approach to pet keeping.
— To think that keeping pets actually required spending money and preparing food for them!
In the mermaid’s view of pet keeping: Choose a fierce deep-sea fish to foster, and if it can survive the battles among other marine creatures, the mermaid would grant it the privilege to hunt within his territory.
If it required him to feed the fish, the mermaid might just fling it away with a flick of his tail.
Thus, Shu Tang soon realized how worry-free it was to keep a whale.